It’s good to talk

Neil Hammerton says understanding pain points and providing better service can only be achieved by talking to customers to appreciate fully what their requirements are.

Inundated with price comparison sites, utility customers have more control than ever over the costs and services associated with the providers they choose, resulting in a record 5.8 million households changing to another energy supplier last year. As new digital upstarts continue to battle for market share, incumbents must find new ways to keep their customers loyal in an over-saturated market. Providing an exceptional customer service could be that key differentiator.

However, research from uSwitch ­earlier this year revealed that overall satisfaction with energy suppliers has fallen for the ­second year running. In addition, a ­survey by Which? found that utility providers fill four out of the bottom five slots when it comes to customer service – behind the likes of financial services and grocery retail.

A recent Accenture study described how “utility customer engagement efforts need to recognise that they are serving a new generation of tech-savvy customers, who amongst other things expect a smarter experience with a personalised service”. Consumers have now become accustomed to instant gratification thanks to the abundance of technology they have at their fingertips. As such, customer expectations have significantly increased, and people are quick to switch providers if given an unsatisfactory service.

If utilities want to retain customers and deliver on new expectations, they must first embrace new 21st century tools and business models.

Weather the storm

A Harvard Business Review study showed that only 43 per cent of utility customers who have had a negative experience will remain with that provider a year later, compared with 74 per cent of those who had a positive experience. There are many factors outside of a utility company’s control that impact their operations, from poor weather to volatility of energy costs, so every effort should be made to control the factors that they can – namely, the customer experience.

Understanding pain points and providing a better customer service can only be achieved by talking to customers to understand their full requirements. When organisations get it right first time, satisfaction levels instantly increase.

Your call is very important to us

Whether customers can smell gas, they’ve been overcharged, or their water pressure is too low, they can’t be hanging around waiting to get through to someone on the phone. They need a solution fast and interaction with a live customer service agent who can not only clearly detail a solution for the problem, but express sympathy for the inconvenience that the customer is experiencing. Unfortunately, many customers are instead met with longer than average hold times and unresolved calls that can ultimately lead to them searching for a different provider.

Despite our poor experiences, a large proportion of us still resort to picking up the phone when we have a problem. This proves that, even with the introduction of new digital communication channels such as social media and chatbots, voice is not dead. Organisations need to realise the importance of delivering customer service via these traditional channels and understand how new technologies can enhance and improve these.

The key differentiator

While a website may be an organisation’s shop window and email a transactional communications channel, when it comes to trust, relationship building and delivering a high-quality communication experience, customers still need, and want, to talk to their provider.

By implementing a cloud-telephony ­platform to support their phone systems, utilities can ensure their call centre agents have a 360-degree view into all the customers they speak to. They are equipped to provide a highly personalised experience, providing the right information for the right person at the right time. This can happen in a matter of days with customer relationship management (CRM) and telephony integration.

We have become accustomed to same-day delivery and using the internet to leverage a fast response. If utility providers want to prevent customers from switching suppliers at the drop of a hat, they need to give them a reason to stay. And regardless of whether they can compete on price, they must exceed when it comes to customer service. To do so, it is vital that businesses find new ways to anticipate demand and should focus on delivering a truly uniform experience in an omni-channel environment.